Chapter 469: The Bootlicking Emperor

In the Eastern Capital, at Sang Weihan's residence, from the moment he learned that Shi Chonggui had recovered from his illness, Sang Weihan knew he had been set up.

Especially after the medical officer of the Daning Palace who had been passing him messages suddenly stopped meeting him in private, Sang Weihan became all the more certain.

Because the only person who could have devised such a vicious scheme — using Shi Chonggui's health to lure him into the trap — was Feng Yu, the elder brother of Empress Feng, who had always wanted to bring him down.

And the only person with the ability and the nerve to make a palace medical officer pass him false word that Shi Chonggui was gravely ill was Empress Feng herself.

For anyone else to say Shi Chonggui was at death's door would be cursing the sovereign, but from Empress Feng, it was no more than a bit of banter between a young couple.

"My lord, an imperial messenger has come with an edict, though he looks rather unfriendly." His eldest son's uneasy voice came from outside the door.

Sang Weihan ran through everyone he knew in his mind once more, found that there was truly no one who would plead for him, raised his head to the heavens with a long sigh, and accepted the fate he had coming.

On the third day of the third month, before the victorious army had even reached the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, the partly recovered Shi Chonggui dismissed Sang Weihan from the post of Chief Minister and sent him out as Prefect of Kaifeng.

This post of Prefect of Kaifeng was a face-saving way out, granted by Shi Chonggui out of regard for old ties.

Sang Weihan understood, of course — how could a man who had been chief minister of the realm go and serve as the capital's administrator?

So after receiving the edict, Sang Weihan soon submitted a memorial claiming he had a foot ailment, and from then on shut his gates and no longer went out.

The next day, Shi Chonggui appointed He Ning as Vice Director of the Secretariat and Chief Minister — two of the three offices that made up a chief minister's full kit.

But the crucial post of Commissioner of Military Affairs, which carried authority over military matters, Shi Chonggui gave to his wife's elder brother, Feng Yu.

He Ning understood perfectly what this meant, and from then on, whenever there were memorials or consultations, he would not speak unless spoken to.

Inwardly, he even felt rather fortunate, because the Later Jin court was facing an extremely thorny matter.

Namely, the rewards due to the victorious returning army — but the state treasury held very little silver.

Feng Yu, however, who considered himself now a chief minister, was not the least bit flustered. Seeing He Ning sitting there with eyes on his nose and nose on his heart, he unceremoniously stepped past He Ning and came before Shi Chonggui.

"Your Majesty, I made inquiries earlier and learned that this year's silver reserves amount to only seventy thousand strings of cash, and the salaries of the hundred officials must still be paid from that. At most forty thousand strings can be spared. I beg Your Majesty to contribute some from the privy purse, so that the various armies may be rewarded."

He Ning's expression did not change, except that his nostrils twitched twice. What Feng Yu said seemed somewhat ill-timed.

Because the whole difficulty with the rewards was precisely that Shi Chonggui was unwilling to spend from the privy purse, while the court's reserves were insufficient for the rewards.

Shi Chonggui also looked at Feng Yu strangely, because Feng Yu knew full well that he was unwilling to spend from the privy purse — so why was he now asking him, in front of everyone, to do so?

Seeing the hundred officials and Shi Chonggui all staring at him in surprise, Feng Yu felt a sudden surge of intellectual superiority, and said to Shi Chonggui:

"The soldiers have fought and bled for the realm, and they deserve Your Majesty's reward. If ten thousand strings were spent on largesse, the three armies would surely rejoice."

So he was only asking for ten thousand strings from him! Shi Chonggui looked at Feng Yu and immediately found him agreeable again.

But even he felt that with the court having only forty thousand strings and himself contributing only ten thousand — fifty thousand strings in total for the rewards — was that not a little too little?

One had to realize that if this sum were divided evenly, each man would get only a little over one string.

And even division was impossible anyway. With so many officers, a single man's reward had to be at least a hundred strings or more, and adding compensation for the dead and wounded, fifty thousand strings might not even cover those alone.

Still, Shi Chonggui was unwilling to give any more. Without money, how was he to enjoy himself with Lady Feng? Where would the fine wine and delicacies come from?

Recently Shi Chonggui had also conscripted several hundred weavers, establishing what was called the Brocade Tower, devoted solely to weaving brocade for him and Lady Feng to spread on the floors.

That alone would cost sixty or seventy thousand strings — where was there any extra money for rewarding the troops?

Feng Yu, however, waved his hand grandly and said to Shi Chonggui: "Ten thousand strings is enough. I have heard that the soldiers coming from the north have won much Khitan iron armor, fine horses, gold, and silver.

A single horse sold to a merchant is worth thirty strings, and the soldiers of the Husheng Left and Right Armies have at least one or two horses each.

I believe we need only bestow gold, silver, and brocade worth fifty thousand strings upon the various Military Governors and supervisors.

Those being sent out to command military provinces can raise funds and grain once they reach their posts. As for the Jin armies — the Husheng, Pengsheng, and Yanwei Armies of the left and right — let the people of the Eastern Capital and its environs make offerings."

"Hiss!" He Ning, who had been playing a clay bodhisattva the whole time, suddenly widened his eyes. What Feng Yu meant was to turn the rewards into self-financing!

That is, the local yabing guards would be rewarded by their Military Governors after they returned to their provincial posts.

Those with merit who were not originally Military Governors — such as Hu Cile — would simply be appointed Military Governor of Wuning Army in Xuzhou, and the rewards for the Liangzhou cavalry and part of the infantry under him would be raised after reaching Xuzhou.

As for the imperial guard armies such as the Husheng and Pengsheng, their rewards would be apportioned among the people of the Eastern Capital.

What a truly "fine solution" this was!

The soldiers had fought and bled for the realm, yet the local yabing guards' rewards were to be raised by their Military Governors themselves — were they then soldiers of the state, or private troops of the military provinces?

Would the central court still be able to collect taxes from the provinces in the future?

As for the imperial guards' rewards being apportioned among the people of the Eastern Capital — this was no treatment for a victorious returning army; this was the sort of maneuver used by Li Siyuan and Li Congke after they marched troops into the capital and ascended the throne!

But He Ning's lips moved twice, and he saw that Shi Chonggui's face already showed signs of being swayed.

He looked again at Feng Dao and Li Song, but they sat there calm and composed, saying nothing, and the rest of the assembled officials were the same.

He Ning sighed inwardly. Although Sang Weihan's character was contemptible, he was truly capable and truly willing to take responsibility. If he were here, he would surely have cursed Feng Yu to his face.

Perhaps that was also why a few slanderous words had been enough to make Shi Chonggui resolve to dismiss Sang Weihan.

But though he thought this, He Ning naturally had no intention of sticking his neck out.

Only a fool would step forward to object. Even if the emperor were changed, they would still be needed to keep the court running — why offend Shi Chonggui and Feng Yu at a time like this?

"The Commissioner of Military Affairs speaks the words of one who plans for the state. The soldiers may have rendered great service, but a provincial Military Governor's post is enough to repay their merit.

As for the imperial guards, the Eastern Capital, thanks to Your Majesty's benevolence, now has a flourishing population, and the great merchants have amassed fortunes of ten thousandfold. For them to contribute a fraction of their wealth as largesse — what does it amount to!"

The moment this man spoke, the assembled ministers in the hall more or less all furrowed their brows.

This man was Yin Peng, the shameless new bootlicker Feng Yu had recruited after Li Yantao was killed, now serving as Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs.

His words, however, suited Shi Chonggui's taste perfectly.

Because right now Shi Chonggui wanted nothing else but one thing: to hand out at least some reward to the soldiers, settle the matter, and not let it delay his pleasures with Lady Feng. That was enough for him.

As for governing the realm, this fellow actually had very little concept of it.

Because among Shi Jingtang's sons, he had originally been the least favored.

In ordinary times he had served as Shi Jingtang's personal guard on the battlefield and his close bodyguard in daily life. His greatest merits were that he was handy in a fight, looked honest, and did whatever he was told.

It was only after Shi Jingtang's sons had nearly all been killed off that Shi Chonggui began to enter Shi Jingtang's notice.

Shi Jingtang had once arranged for him to serve as Defender of the Northern Capital, garrisoning Jinyang, but Shi Chonggui lasted only a little over three months before he could not go on, and the verdict from above and below was that he had accomplished nothing.

But in reality, Shi Chonggui could do nothing and would do nothing; he simply could not win the support of the military men of Jinyang, so Shi Jingtang had no choice but to recall him to the Eastern Capital.

It could be said that Shi Chonggui had received neither an imperial education nor even the education of a provincial military governor.

He fundamentally could not understand how the state operated, nor did he know what was happening beyond the Eastern Capital.

He also lacked sufficient understanding of his "Khitan grandfather," who was furious and humiliated but possessed an extremely tenacious will.

In Shi Chonggui's view, the present situation was that after this great defeat, the Khitan would no longer dare harbor intentions of invading southward, the realm would henceforth be at peace, and he could rest easy.

So he nodded happily. "Your words are reasonable. Order the proper offices to record the merits and see where military governors are still lacking, and make arrangements accordingly. Especially in the prefectures of Hebei, good generals should be appointed to hold them."

Having settled the matter of rewards, Shi Chonggui departed in high spirits; he still had to urge on the construction of the Zide Palace.

Last autumn, the commissioners Shi Chonggui had sent to various places to press for the autumn taxes returned to the capital, bringing with them a great number of local curios and beautiful women, among whom were several dozen skilled in music. Shi Chonggui thereupon gave them to Empress Feng to train.

This woman Feng may well have had a natural gift for training girl troupes; the beauties she trained could all sing and dance superbly.

Shi Chonggui was utterly delighted. Not only did he bestow large quantities of silks and brocades, he also prepared to build a new Zide Palace within the Daning Palace specifically to house these beauties.

Now that his health was sound and the Khitan had suffered a great defeat, Shi Chonggui's entire attention was fixed on one question: when would the Zide Palace be finished?

Shi Chonggui left, but He Ning, Feng Dao, Li Song, as well as Feng Yu and his lackey Yin Peng, could not yet leave.

The group went together to the Bureau of Military Affairs to discuss the victory-offering ceremony for after the army returned.

Only at this point could He Ning no longer hold back. He fixed his eyes on Feng Yu.

"The Secretariat proposed to the Son of Heaven to reward the soldiers for their great merit with fifty thousand strings of cash. Exactly how is this to be done? Please give us a concrete plan."

Having said this, He Ning turned his gaze to Feng Dao and Li Song. "Master Kedao and Master Dachou, the Prefect is currently at the front with the army. If the officers and men are dissatisfied and rise in anger, all our families are here in the Eastern Capital."

Feng Dao's courtesy name was Kedao, and Li Song's was Dachou. The "Prefect" He Ning spoke of was Shi Chonggui's eldest son, Shi Yanxu, who held the office of Prefect of Zhengzhou.

He Ning's meaning was clear: if the soldiers at the front learned of this reward scheme, they would probably not accept it so readily.

Shi Yanxu was still at the front. If the soldiers grew discontented and simply acclaimed Shi Yanxu and returned to the capital to make trouble, that would be disastrous.

But Feng Yu still did not quite understand. The man was unlearned and incompetent, yet possessed extraordinarily thick skin.

He could not even distinguish between the words "indulgence" and "betrayal," yet he had dared to sit for the jinshi examination.

When he served as Secretariat Drafter, he could not even draft edicts; everything was ghostwritten by his lackey Yin Peng at his side.

At this moment, not grasping He Ning's meaning, he felt that He Ning had slighted his dignity and was about to step forward to demand an explanation, when Yin Peng beside him caught hold of Feng Yu and whispered in his ear.

"The State Father-in-Law is still with the army."

Feng Yu gave a violent shudder and immediately understood the danger of the situation.

Shi Yanxu was not the son of his sister, Lady Feng, but was born of Shi Chonggui's first wife, Lady Zhang. Lady Zhang's father — Shi Yanxu's maternal grandfather, Zhang Cong'en — was right there in the army.

Feng Dao gave a long sigh and said to He Ning, "Grand Tutor An and the Duke of Qi are loyal and upright ministers. We may first summon them back to the capital, tell them the truth, and ask them to come forward to placate the troops."

Li Song nodded and added, "This time, returning in victory, the soldiers have all seized large quantities of goods and wealth from the Khitan, and their hearts are set on peace. We can order the local authorities to commend their households, so that they return in glory. That may lessen their discontent.

Furthermore, the merchants of the Eastern Capital are crafty and slippery. I will personally go and keep watch over them, so that they dare not cheat or force down prices, and the soldiers can sell for a bit more silver and coin, bringing smiles to their faces."

The group spoke one after another, completely ignoring the existence of Feng Yu and Yin Peng. Since matters had already reached this state, they prepared to do their utmost to placate the soldiers and prevent a mutiny from breaking out.

The literati of the Five Dynasties could, after all, only do this kind of damage-control work.

"Grand Commandant Zhang must also be summoned back first. If there is any dissatisfaction, he can be promoted to Defender of Yedu as a reward for his merit."

Feng Yu hastily added this. If Zhang Cong'en was not recalled, he truly could not set his mind at ease; for this, he was even willing to offer up the long-vacant post of Defender of Yedu.

That Feng Yu, a man advanced by favor, should dare to promise a key regional post like Defender of Yedu — this was in fact the greatest joke of Shi Chonggui's court.

For Shi Chonggui, in order to amuse his beauties, had once promised in front of Empress Feng that all appointments to offices of Prefect and above must have Feng Yu's consent.

Do not think this was merely said in jest. Last winter, when Feng Yu was ill and recuperating at home for over a month, Shi Chonggui had said exactly this, face to face, to all the chief ministers.

For the Son of Heaven to debase himself to such a degree of fawning servility — it could be considered without rival.

All chapters have been cached for you. Download the APP to view.